Vulnerable children sometimes spend a long time in a van on their way to school and then sit in the classroom tired and overstimulated. In March, the national survey by the interest organization Ouders & Onderwijs among more than 500 parents showed that this happened, and a similar survey has now been conducted by the PvdA in Coevorden. The conclusions were the same.
The Coevorder PvdA faction had 26 parents from the municipality questioned and had conversations with taxi drivers. This showed that the quality of student transport in Coevorden is inadequate. That is why the PvdA submitted a motion tonight to improve the quality of student transport based on the findings of the study.
“There is no special education in our municipality, so parents in Coevorden have no choice and have to use student transport,” says PvdA party leader Michel Blanken. “That’s why we have to ensure that the quality of transport improves.”
Longer than an hour and a half on the road
The research shows, among other things, that the children have to travel too long from home to school. Nearly a quarter of the parents surveyed indicate that their child(ren) is on their way to school for more than an hour and a half, while the maximum travel time is 45 minutes for children up to the age of twelve and a maximum of one hour for children up to eighteen years.
Almost forty percent of the respondents do not think that student transport is safe or wonder whether it is safe enough. According to the parents, this doubt is due to the overcrowded vans, which on average hold five children, who also vary in age. As a result, there are major differences in the developmental stage of the children and there are different limitations in the group of children that are transported at the same time.
According to the parents surveyed, this is problematic because the driver is not always able to respond to this. This would be because the driver has only limited knowledge of the situation of the children and the attention that must be kept on the road at the same time.
Based on the study, the PvdA makes four recommendations relating to communication, parental requests, implementation and tendering of contracts. In a motion, the council was asked to incorporate these recommendations into a proposal for improving student transport.
In the council meeting, there were some questions about the study and the feasibility of the recommendations, but all parties ultimately voted in favor of the motion.